Bible Lessons

From: Messages of God's Love: 1937

Zechariah 13:8⁸And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. (Zechariah 13:8) to 14:5

OUR Lord had verse 7 in His holy mind on the night of His betrayal (Matthew 26:31³¹Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. (Matthew 26:31)), when by the determinate counsel and fore-knowledge of God, as Peter said in Acts 2:23,²³Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: (Acts 2:23) He was about to be delivered into the hands of His murderers. The true sheep were scattered, but preserved as “little ones” under God’s protecting hand. Between verses 7 and 8 occurs the present long period of the day of grace, with Israel nationally set aside, while the heavenly bride of Christ, composed principally of Gentiles, is being called out of the earth.

Verses 8 and 9 point onward to the fearful times which are coming for the Jews, concerning which the Lord spoke in Matthew 24. God has not forgotten their ancient idolatry and other sins, nor their flagrant act of crucifying His Son, the guilt of which they owned, though they did not know what they did (Matthew 27:25²⁵Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children. (Matthew 27:25); Luke 23:34³⁴Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. (Luke 23:34)). There. is forgiveness for them, when they repent, but only a remnant (Isaiah 10:20-22²⁰And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. ²¹The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. ²²For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness. (Isaiah 10:20‑22)) will do so.

The first five verses of chapter 14 describe the events of the first attack by the king of the north upon Jerusalem, which, as earlier remarked, will shortly precede the Lord’s return to this world. Verse 1 is rightly read, “Behold, the day cometh for Jehovah, and thy spoil. etc.” It speaks of a heavy stroke of judgment to fall upon the unrepentant Jews; the believers acting upon the Lord’s directions given in Matthew 24:15-25,¹⁵When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) ¹⁶Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: ¹⁷Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: ¹⁸Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. ¹⁹And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! ²⁰But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: ²¹For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. ²²And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. ²³Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. ²⁴For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. ²⁵Behold, I have told you before. (Matthew 24:15‑25) will have long before this left Jerusalem in the hands of the false king and his supporters. The “overflowing scourge” (Isaiah 28:18¹⁸And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. (Isaiah 28:18)) will then pass through Judah, overflowing “to the neck” (Isaiah 8:8⁸And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel. (Isaiah 8:8)), but the elect of God, the believing remnant, will be spared by divine intervention.

Though Jerusalem has been besieged several times since Zechariah wrote, the circumstances named in verse 2 have not yet occurred; nor could they, because verse 3 is closely connected with that terrible day. The vast army of the eastern powers led by the king of the north will have gone through Judah’s land, halting at Jerusalem until it is captured, and then continuing victoriously southward to Egypt and other northern African countries, but returning, will be met by the Lord Jesus (verse 3). His feet will stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which adjoins Jerusalem on the east, a hill significant in the Scriptures (Ezekiel 11:23,²³And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city. (Ezekiel 11:23) Matthew 24:3,³And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? (Matthew 24:3) John 8:1,¹Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. (John 8:1) etc.) and apparently from a low part of it the Lord ascended to heaven Luke 24: 50, 51, Acts 1:12¹²Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey. (Acts 1:12)). Terror will seize all hearts when the Mount of Olives cleaves in the midst—token of the presence of Jesus—Jehovah. We are not told here of the end of the king of the north. Isaiah and Daniel tell that.

ML 10/31/1937

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